Jackson Executive's Team Makes the Data Talk

Heather Fitzgerald manages a team that puts rivers of information to work.

Fitzgerald, the senior vice president of distribution intelligence and customer relationship management strategy at Jackson National Life Distributors, Jackson’s annuity distribution arm, and members of her team turn chaotic torrents into helpful streams that Jackson can use to help consumers prepare for retirement.

She has a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State and a master’s degree in business from the University of Detroit Mercy. She worked in data analytics in Chicago, Detroit and Silicon Valley before joining Jackson in 2019.

Fitzgerald recently answered questions, via email, about her view that the heart of what her team does is data storytelling. The interview has been edited.

THINKADVISOR: What is data storytelling?

HEATHER FITZGERALD: Data storytelling is the process and ability to translate often complex and disparate data into simple, business-oriented terms to impact a decision or action.

Data storytelling can be used to better visualize data in a way that enhances audience engagement and influences large and small-scale business activities such as sales and pipeline reporting, new product introductions, competitive analysis, customer behavior and workforce productivity, among others.

Telling a story with data can help audiences get from Point A (where they are) to Point B, which is where they have the ‘aha’ moment that will change everything.

What could an example of data storytelling look like?

Data storytelling can take many forms, and it truly depends on the audience, topic, industry and even the method of presentation (report, discussion, PowerPoint presentation, dashboard, etc.). In short, there is no right or wrong way to share the data, but knowing your audience and the strategic decisioning that will take place because of your data story should dictate the form.

The following three components are the most important — the data, the narrative and the visual — and those can be very different based on the use case or the problem you are trying to solve or answer.

What resources does a company need to organize an effective data storytelling effort?

Data storytelling can be successful in an organization based on four main components: people, processes, platforms and data.

The people aspect is paramount to drive an influential business intelligence/analytics function, and often these people are hard to find.

They must be able to speak the language of the business while understanding the technology side as well. They also need to develop the story surrounding the data and the business problem by using not only numbers, but also visualization and a compelling and engaging narrative — all at the same time.

It is not easy to find this skillset, but once you do, you realize how critical it is to the business.

Who tends to do well in data storytelling?

Although it is essential to have classically trained analytics team members (including those who embrace the predictive and prescriptive nature of where data has evolved to), having a true natural curiosity about the numbers, the business and the competitive landscape really sets candidates apart from one another.